You want your wedding to be exotic and the one to remember. But you have a tight budget. Are you planning to compromise with your dream? No, that is not something you should do. It’s the most special day of your life, and you must make the best of it. Your wedding must be as extravagant as you have planned. Pen down all you have thought of on a wedding budget planner.

Here are 4 Expert Plans for a Low Budget Wedding:

Hire a wedding decorator: If you have a low budget, hiring a wedding decorator may seem like an extra cost. This is where most couple end up doing a mistake. A wedding decorator has multiple contacts and can fetch you the most competitive rate from the market, without compromising with your choice. Further a wedding decorator is also able to help you with budget wedding ideas. He can guide you thoroughly with ideas to suit not just your style but also your budget.

Don’t go for popular choices: Anything which is popular and most sought after will be expensive. If you are planning your wedding on a budget, you will have to do away with the kind of wedding that most people do. Instead of choosing a venue in some exotic location, try to spot a place closer to your home. This will save a lot of traveling cost for you. If you have a very dear friend, who would want to give the lawn of his/her house for a one day rent, try to book that space. Seek help of your wedding decorator for more affordable alternatives.

Leave out the expenses which you can avoid: Do not over do. Instead of fresh flowers you can go for artificial floral decoration. Instead of a tall 4 or more tier cake, go for smaller ones (you can go for 2 to 3 mini cakes). Instead of live band play your favorite music on a sound system. Instead of candles, go for artificial lights and so on. I bet you would end up saving a lot of cash.

Make it big with small wedding ideas: Call a wedding decorator for advice. With a little professional guidance you can really make your small wedding a big hit. It is not necessary to call everyone you know, even those you have only met once or twice in life. Your invitee list should constitute of names that are really closer to you. Your wedding menu need not be lavish. You know what your near and dear ones love to gorge into, so make it a part of your wedding menu. With a small variety of food on the table, your guests will remember your wedding dinner.

Wedding on a budget is only possible if you have proper planning. By booking a venue, wedding decorator, caterer, and so on months before the ceremony, you will be able to save a lot of money.

Roasted Turkey is one of the favorite food items on Christmas Eve, and is preferred by many families as centerpiece on Christmas Dinner Table. So, while serving a roasted Turkey it is important to get it correctly roasted, since the taste of it lies on the process in which it is being roasted.

Roasting a Turkey:

First: on getting the Turkey you should first remove its giblets, in the body cavity, and then place it on a plate. Put the Turkey containing dish on the coolest part of the refrigerator. The weight of the Turkey should be well known, since this helps in calculating the cooking time.

The night before take it out of the fridge so that it is adjusted with it room temperature, before being roasted. It is good if you can get a fresh Turkey, if not then allow the frozen Turkey to be completely defrosted before it is cooked.

Second: the next important step is the stuffing of Turkey. You can stuff the Turkey with a stuffing of your choice. The quantity required for stuffing will the same as that of the Turkey. Two-third of the stuffing must be place between the flesh and the skin in the neck end. And then the rest of the stuffing must be placed inside the body cavity. An important thing to be noted, the Turkey must be properly deforested before being stuffed. It is so required because if the deforestation does not takes place properly then the heat will not reach evenly to every part of the Turkey, making it remain uncooked. Only if the Turkey and the stuffing are in room temperature, the preparation will perfect. It is also necessary to spread butter all over the bird.

Third: put bacon rashers on the breast of the Turkey, then apply freshly milled black pepper and salt to taste.

Forth: two large foil sheets are required to place the Turkey and wrap it loosely. The Turkey parcel must be firmly tied, and put inside a pre-heated oven in 220 degree C, for 40 minutes. This blast is required to allow the heat to go into the Turkey and its stuffing. Then you must reduce the temperature to 170 degree C for 3 and a half hour.

Fifth: after this you must remove the Turkey from the oven and uncover it. The uncovered Turkey must then be cooked for 40 minutes at 200 degree C. The browning of the beacon on the bird’s breast is an indication to allow the final browning of the breast.

Sixth: the final cooking for 40 minutes is suppose to give you a completely roasted Turkey. Thrust a thick part of the leg with a skewer, on pressing the skewer check if the juice is clear without any pink trace in it. If there is no such trace then your Turkey is completely prepared, but if there are pink traces the dish requires a little more cooking. Before you can serve the Turkey you need to keep it wrapped up loosely in a foil for about 40 minutes, the normal room temperature would be perfect.

Christmas time is fun time for all, and the sharing of joy and happiness cannot be complete without deserts. So, while preparing deserts you have to take extra care to receive appreciation and see the smiling face of your dear ones.

Deserts for Christmas:

Fruit cakes – taste is essential, apart from that health becomes another very important issue that should not be neglected. Thus, to keep a balance between both fruit cakes are the best option. Prepare your cake with different varieties of dry fruits, as well as use fresh sliced fruits for garnishing your cake.

This well garnished cake is extremely healthy as well as attractive, especially for the children.

Custards – this is a dessert which can be prepared very quickly yet it is delicious for the taste buds. Custard mix powders are easily available in the market, and these are available in various flavors. Another advantage of this dessert is that, it not extremely sweet so it can be consumed by all. If you are preparing chocolate custard then you can easily use dark chocolate for garnishing the dish. In case of any other custard flavors, fresh cream and sliced fruits can be used of presenting the desert.

Cookies – this is one of the deserts most liked by children. So, to make your children you can of course choose to prepare this desert. Cookies are also considered to be healthy and low fat containing, and if it contains dark chocolate then it would also act as an anti-oxidant.

Fruit salad – fruit salad is a very good option to opt during Christmas. Winter brings many different kinds of fruits, which are often not consumed or liked by children. So, if you are thinking of preparing a desert which is tasty yet very healthy, then this is the best you have. Prepare a salad with the seasonal fruits that are available, and present it well. For garnishing your desert you could use fresh cream, and chocolate chips, this will make the dish look very catchy.

The fruit salad is a desert that can be consumed by people of every age group, since it is an absolute healthy dish, causing no health problems.

Peppermint cream cup-cake – this is a delicious desert that pleases the taste bud well. Peppermint cakes are prepared in the usual way, in which cakes are made. Some of the main ingredients required for making it are coffee, buttermilk, fresh cream. For presentation you will require sponge chocolate. This sponge chocolate will enhance the flavor of your cupcake, making it more delicious.

Cranberry snow cake – if you are looking for an extra-ordinarily delicious cake for Christmas, then your search ends here. The cranberry snow cake gives you the perfect feel of Christmas and its joys.

To prepare this desert you do not require to be an expert. Bake the cake you usually bake cakes, only add a layer of cranberry to your cake. The topping of it can be done by chocolate sauce or vanilla flavored cream. You can even present your cake by using a nutty and sliced fruit topping.

What is a wedding without great food? One thing that guests look forward to, more than an eye appealing décor and foot tapping music, is the food that is served at the occasion. People forget just everything about a wedding, but one thing that stays in their memory for years to come is great food that was served. Planning a great menu for your wedding reception can be quite taxing and adding to it is the way the lip-smacking food should be served.

Now, should you opt for casual canapés or narrow down on a sit down dinner? If you are also trapped in this dilemma, then read ahead to erase the confusions that you are surrounded with.

Sit Down Dinner for a Wedding Reception

Pros: A sit down dinner not only looks elegant and classy, but will blend perfectly with a formal wedding reception. Each of your guests will be assigned tables for a sit down dinner and the waiting staff will serve food to everyone. This will kill the time spent while waiting uneasily in a line to get food, which can annoy guests. But, it gives more control in terms of timing of your reception for various events.

Cons: It is comparatively more expensive as a larger number of servers are required to make sure that every table gets served relatively at the same time. In this case, the guests get a limited food choice.

Casual Canapés for a Wedding Reception

Pros: Casual Canapés will be a hit in case your wedding reception is not-so-formal and is more like a fun event. A variety of canapés can be served which if prepared well can be both decorative and delicious along with cocktails. It will undoubtedly be a modern and causal affair, with fun flowing from everywhere.

Cons: It will be a stand-up affair, which will be loved by youngsters, but maybe the old brigade doesn’t like it much.

You should always discuss every detail in length with your wedding reception caterer to ensure everything falls in your set budget. But, at the end, your prime focus should be on hi quality and mouth watering food.

One of the major highlights of any wedding is the reception menu. If you serve great food, all your guests will remember your wedding for years to come. And an easy way to get complements is by going a little creative when it comes to working on the menu. From appetizers to full-course meals and mid-night snacks, each item on the menu must be unique so that your guests enjoy their food even more.

The wedding menu must add some extra spices so that your guests to have a range of choices of their favorite delicacies. Fun food is certainly the latest choice of 2013 wedding. Here is a list of items you can choose from:

Finger Foods: Finger foods are favorite of people of all age group from kids to adults. Even your pickiest guests will enjoy munching food like tea sandwiches, trail mix and crackers. These foods might be common, yet they never become cliché. You can also go for other snacks as suggested to you by your wedding planner or the person in charge for catering. Finger foods will allow you to serve drinks with the starters. Make sure you keep enough disposable plates and napkins on the table while serving finger foods.

Food Stations: If you are not happy with food stations, call them food corners or food hubs but you must have them at your wedding. Most of the weddings serve one lavish meal to the guests. A food station can serve this in a better managed way if you have a buffet style dinner. This will allow your guests to pick and choose their favorite delicacies and enjoy the meal more. You can have multiple food stations for salads, desserts, cheese, starters, frozen yogurt and ice creams. The kids are fond of such food. Hence, this will make them happier and make it less messy for you.

Cultural Foods: Guests attending your wedding will keep talking about the food you serve. But don’t expect each and every guest to have a full course meal. There would be people who might not be very hungry and might only want to have some dessert like a small piece of cake. Some night be fond of non vegetarian items and would only gorge on fish and chicken. Keep arrays of delicacies keeping in mind the fact that taste buds of your guests will differ from one another. Asian and Mediterranean food items are loved by many guests during a wedding. Their spicy delicacies would keep lingering in the mouth longer after the food is consumed.

Mini Meal: Have you thought of serving a mini meal before serving the main meal. Stuffs like dumplings, cupcakes and sliders are popular among guests of all age group starting from kids to adults. A small bite before the meal is served would be loved by all. A recent study has shown that more and more wedding planners are getting orders for caterers who can serve hors d’oeuvres instead of large meals.

Are you having trouble deciding whether to cover your chairs , or to leave them bare? If you’re considering covering your chairs , will you opt for neutral colours or bold, vibrant colours? Do you prefer patterns? Have you considered texture? Some may think white chair covers are boring, but have you considered adding texture by experimenting with fabrics? Or have you thought about different shades of white? Other details can also add personality to an otherwise plain white chair cover. You can create a unique look with the right chair covers.

You may think of these as added expenses, but keep reading to find out some great ways to save when shopping for chair covers !

Have you thought about checking out rental options? You may be able to cut costs by renting your chair covers.

Another way to save is to use the venue’s basic chair covers and personalize them by adding a fun chair Sashes, which you can rent or purchase. This way you only need to pay for the chair sashes, which tend to be less expensive than full tablecloths. Alternatively, you can create your own, truly personalized runners using fabric or flowers.

If you’re considering full chair covers, you can always save by going with a chair cap instead. They will create the same visual impact and desired effect in the overall look of the venue, but at a fraction of the cost. Or, skip the chair covers all together and go for a decorated chair look using ribbons or flowers.

Everyone can make mistakes when trying to plan the perfect wedding. Follow these foolproof tips to avoid unnecessary fumbles during the wedding planning process.

1. The first impression you make on your guests will set the tone for the entire wedding. That’s why it’s so important to perfect your wedding invitations! As quick and convenient email may be, do you really want to send your wedding invitations by email? Dedicate some time to creating beautiful wedding invitations to announce the magical day that awaits your guests. Plus, a lot of people save invitations as a reminder with all of the event details, and an email can easily get lost in an overflowing inbox by the time the big day arrives.

2. As you can imagine, no one wants to be rushing around during the last hour leading up to the wedding. The last thing you want to be doing when guests start to arrive is finishing up the wedding installation. Leave yourself extra time to ensure sufficient time to complete the installation. Some guests are bound to arrive early, and you wouldn’t want to be seen rushing and cleaning up as guests filter in.

3. The wedding ceremony should begin on time. What will your guests think when they have gone to the trouble of arriving on time, and the ceremony begins significantly later than the time you had listed on the invitation?

4. Of course wedding flowers are an important aspect of the wedding decor, but it is also important to keep in mind that they should be in full bloom on the day of the big event. This can easily be overlooked, so be sure to take the time and make the effort to ensure your flowers are nurtured properly and are ready to be in the spotlight.

5. It’s one thing if your flowers aren’t quite in full bloom yet, but it’s a completely different story if the flowers are already beginning to wilt or turn brown. Be prepared for the worst-case scenario and order some additional fresh flowers for back up. Remember, your guests will be sitting around the centerpiece at their table all night. What would you think if you were staring at a wilting, brown centerpiece? Don’t think of this tip as obsessive compulsive, but it wouldn’t hurt to check each centerpiece and arrangement for flowers that need to be replaced before the event gets started. Replace any sad looking flowers with the fresh back up flowers you remembered to order.

6. You want your guests to enjoy the food and catering at any event. You already know you’ll need to do your homework and serve the best food possible. However, another thing you should keep in mind is the actual serving of each dish. Never serve plated food before guests are seated. They’ll be wondering how long it’s been sitting out. You should always have food servced once guests are seated, and try to have everyone served in a timely manner so everyone can dig in sooner. If you’re going for the buffet approach, try to do what you can to prevent long lines.

7. You may have managed to get your favourite band/DJ to play at your event, but be sure to continue to manage the music during the event. If the music is too loud, your guests won’t be able to enjoy the music or hear eachother speak. Be concious of the volume, otherwise you may lose a few guests as the evening of unbearably loud music progresses.

8. Event lighting shouldn’t be too bright. It should be intimate and romantic. You don’t want to find out that a spotlight was blinding half of your guests the entire evening. On the other hand, some people opt to use candles instead of bright lights, but beware: the heat may become overwhelming.

9. Timing is everything. Every step of the wedding should be timed in order to maintain organization and an appropriate flow of events. Things may not always fall exactly into place, but having a realistic plan going in will make a big difference. If something changes last minute, don’t sweat it! You’ll need to stay calm and make sure things get back on schedule and go smoothly moving forward.

10. Be sure to check in with your clients throughout the evening. It is up to you to diffuse feelings of anxiety and nervousness and remind them to enjoy their party. If they’re too preoccupied with worry, they’ll forget to enjoy themselves.

Remember, there’s no such thing as perfection, but if you follow these 10 tips to ensure an optimal event experience for everyone involved, the rest will be a piece of cake!

Most of us can think of particular songs we associate with the love relationships of our lives. If you have no clue what to pick for the first dance, here are the top 10 love songs that are appropriate for weddings. Hope you Like it.

The concept of an After Party is gaining more and more popularity in Canada this year. It actually has become a great way to thank all your guests and involve them into a complete fun and crazy party. People have started considering that most weddings go incomplete without an After Party. If your guests had ample of fun on your wedding reception wouldn’t they love the After Party more?

You would always find a group of friends and family, who would want to stay a little longer, enjoy the throbbing music and dance until they drop. After party is meant for such group of people for who fun never ends. A reception after party with such group of fun loving people can add more excitement to your wedding. You can extend your wedding celebration a little longer and impress your guests with special arrangements to remember your wedding for their life.

An after party must be planned parallel to your wedding plans. If you are calling your guests to a bar or to a restaurant rooftop you must make booking at least a couple of weeks ahead. Make sure you have the lists of guests attending beforehand. This would help you choose the venue to comfortably accommodate every guest. It is better to reserve the place for a private party and make arrangements for champagne and other drinks, appetizers and food. If you are planning to call large number of guests to the after party then it’s better to book the entire bar. Although this could turn out to be a little expensive yet it would take the hassle of organizing the party at your wedding reception venue from your shoulder.

If you have a tight budget, you can always consider organizing the After Party at your reception site with the help of your wedding planner. This would not only minimize the cost but would also give you a lot of freedom to decorate the venue according to your taste and style, play music that your guests would enjoy and serve drinks and food according to your choice.

You would not want to call each and every guest who attended your wedding to the after party. An after party is usually celebrated with the close ones. But it’s better to call everyone who attended your wedding and make some extra arrangements. To save extra cost on invitation cards, you can mention about the wedding party on the wedding cards itself.

The after party should ideally be held either at your reception site or at a private place close by. Since the after party is celebrated right after the wedding reception, it would be easier for the guests to join if the venue is same or at an adjacent place. An after party is the best option for you to thank all your guests and shower them with surprises. You can start with a different decoration, menu, lights, and drinks. The theme for your after party could be completely different from your wedding.

As a wedding decorator the most important thing to do is keeping the customer happy. This can be done through several ways, such as coming up with unique and creative ideas, offering a low cost plan, and building an excellent relationship with the customers. Every customer will be different. They will have different demand and choices when it comes to their wedding. As a wedding decorator one has to constantly upgrade himself/herself to know about the latest trends of the market and come up with very creative ideas which the customers will love.

A wedding decorator must reveal through his/her work the true reflection and personality of the wedding couple. There are countless ideas, but the biggest challenge is to come up with something that will make every guest attending the wedding remember it for a long time. Don’t forget that you might get your potential prospects to do business with during a wedding reception. Often family and friends take a whole of interest in organizing a wedding. You have to be a part of them in order to understand their needs and choices. You have to act not just like a wedding decorator, but also like a designer, floral decorator, jockey, and chef.

Breaking your own rules for every wedding certainly would help the wedding decorator to make each celebration look different from each other in the most perfect and sophisticated way. Your customers are always looking for unique solutions in the most cost effective way. Even if you are working with a millionaire, your client would never want to spend extra cash for unnecessary reasons.

Moreover, coming up with newer ideas will allow you to go absolutely creative. It can be a big or small change. But any change will add a new element to the wedding venue. There is another very important reason to keep changing your past rules. Your customers will always be looking for something new, something which no one has experienced before in a wedding. So, you can give them an extra satisfaction and earn their trust on you.

By breaking your own rules you can also be a trend setter for other wedding decorators. Other players in the market will not only start following you but also may hire you as a consultant. In this constant changing market, people are always looking for newer things. When it comes to wedding your customers will want you to play with colors and decorative. They might want an old combination of pink and green theme for their wedding, but that certainly has to be used in complete different fashion to give a venue a standalone look. Likewise you might be using carnations, roses, tulips or gerberas for floral decoration. But adding a few laces or streamers to it or combining the fresh flowers with artificial ones may add a new element to the wedding.

The biggest appreciation for a wedding decorator is when people start stating at the venue with surprise and tell exciting stories of the wedding they attended. So, keep breaking your own rules.

Nothing can be more fancy and extravagant than an Indian wedding followed by a reception. Choosing the menu for anIndian wedding reception is not an easy task. You have to keep in mind the favorites and preferences of your guests. Not only that, you also need to remember that there should not be a dearth of the food that you provide. Everyone should get enough and food should be there in plentiful. Not only food but there should also be options of drinks made available.

To begin with, the organizers of the reception should take special care in selecting what they will be serving as appetizers. This is a thumb rule because what you offer as appetizers will serve as the first impression on your guests and you would inevitably want this first impression to be the best one.

If you plan to serve your guests in a cocktail manner, then finger food or canapé would probably be the best option. You could serve them a wide range of dishes starting from Samosas, Aloo Tikki, Chicken Tikka, Seekh Kebab, Spring rolls, Paneer Tikka, Tandoori Shrimp with a dip and a lot more. Now, if you plan to go in for a buffet style since that seems to be more of the trend nowadays, you could have a number of options like the Malai Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Reshmi Kebab, and Haryali Tikka. You could also serve up some savory vegetarian dishes like aloo tikki chaat, paapdi chaat, fish pakora, cheese pakora, chicken pakora, lamb and shrimp cutlets. Since, Indians love a whole lot of variety when it comes to food; it is no harm to serve as many appetizers as you want. The more there is the better it gets and the merrier the wedding reception turns out to be.

It is important to remember that Indians can fill their stomachs and relish their palates only with the help of appetizers. So to serve a scrumptious meal of delicacies is the foremost thing a wedding planner must remember while sketching the menu for appetizers.

If dinner is going to be served late, then you must be able to offer a wide range of appetizers to your guests and they should be filling because you surely would not want your guests to go hungry on such a celebrative occasion. The best and most viable option will be to serve a buffet style dinner than the traditional way where all guests are made to sit and then the waiters come serving the different dishes one by one.

If you do go in for the buffet style, try out something a little different. Maybe if you spread an assortment of salads- chicken Hawaiian, Russian, green, fruit, crab and asparagus, Caesar salad, Greek salad, Macaroni, Panzanella etc. a salad bar could also serve your purpose as there may be many diabetic, health conscious or plain salad lovers who will be attending the wedding.

For the main course, you should definitely have a mix of sweet and sour, meat and vegetables. If you want more meat in your menu, you could opt for something like a Fish curry, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Goat Curry, Lamb curry, Mutton Rogan josh, Kadai Chicken and Chicken Lababdar. If you want to include vegetarian dishes in your main course, you could choose from preparations like Palak Paneer, Kadai Paneer, or some Paneer tikka masala. You could also include sweet dishes like the Shahi Paneer, Malai Kofta and savory dishes like Daal Makhani, Tawa vegetables, Channa Masala, Aloo Jeera and Baigan Patiala.

Whatever be the case, the menu should be well planned and appropriately served so that your guests can have a wonderful time during the reception and always cherish the moment and the food for years to come.